Treason probe sought 48 hours before vote

A demand for a criminal inquiry lands in the attorney-general's office two days before the national vote.

Avigdor Liberman, the chairman of Yisrael Beytenu, asked Gali Baharav-Miara to open a probe into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on suspicion of treason. The request was issued on Monday. It does not confirm wrongdoing or mean an investigation has started.

The move follows a report from N12 aired on Sunday. The broadcaster said Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir argued over a proposed operation that could trigger a fight with Iran. The dispute surfaced just before the October 27 election.

Liberman posted on X on Sunday that Netanyahu may be pushing for military action to stop the vote. He called the conduct a betrayal of the state. He argued the chief of staff must keep the military from serving political goals and protect troops from unnecessary danger.

On 103FM on Monday, Liberman said he would approach the attorney-general to request the investigation. "The man has gone off the rails," he said. "One day he's preparing a crypto bomb for us, and the next day an atomic bomb. He just said he had destroyed all of Iran's bombs, and now he's dropping bombs on Tel Aviv?"

Liberman said relations between the military and political leaders have "never been as strained as it is now." He blamed Netanyahu for trying to provoke a miscalculation with Iran. He noted that any action risking war must go through a government discussion.

Defense Minister Israel Katz rejected the accusations. He said there was no strain between the IDF and the leadership. He claimed coordination on Iran has been complete since he took office. Katz said Israel had no intention of starting an attack on Iran before the elections. He called reports of a dispute entirely false. He said the effort to cast doubt was "shameful and irresponsible."